52 comments:

I concur with George - it makes my blood boil that these close-minded people put a damper on our diabetes openness. But way to go for standing firm and giving her what she deserves. I particularly liked the coughing points - classic smartass! Inspiring.

Oh my goodness!!! WTF She's hacking all over the place and she has an issue with you placing a teeny drop of blood on your strip? People never cease to amaze me - in a bad way. But I'm so glad you caller her out, stood your ground, and got support from your gym friends. And now from your D-OC friends!!!

I am totally giving you a standing ovation! Bravo! Bravo! Thank you for saying something. Thank you for all of us!! A friend of mine has been in the hospital with her father for a week. She and her daughter, both t1, were getting breakfast in the cafeteria. Answering questions about her JDRF shirts, she told the casheir they were t1. The nurse behind her in line then said, "Well then who are the donuts for?" WRONG person to say that to! She layed into her. I am proud of her...and you too K2!

Wow....its hard to believe its 2010 and the uneducated still roam freely....a gym teacher once said to me that it wasn't his job to babysit my 6 year old during gym class after I asked him to "keep an eye on him if he acts different he may be low". I just said, "you better cross your fingers buddy that one of your kids doesn't develop diabetes and hit the same ignorance wall."

All we can do is continue to educate....and go ahead and sneeze on her.

People suck. I'm surprised that they had enough nerve to say something like that to you. But I'm so proud you stood up for yourself (and US in a round-about way!) and let her know that we are trying to LIVE. Live healthy, happy, productive lives.

Well played!I occasionally notice people watching while I test, and I never assume the worst. But this was apparently an ongoing thing, and you overheard her being catty about it.You were totally righteous and brave in confronting her.I stopped at a water table to check my blood sugar during the Napa Valley Marathon in 2000, and when I went toward a garbage can with my test strip, one of the volunteers ran at me and siad, "You can't just put that in the trash!"Seriously. One of the other volunteers even said, "It's just a drop of blood." But she was adamant that I had to properly dispose of medical waste. We settled on me putting the strip in a dixie cup before putting it in the trash.In the middle of a f***ing race.A few hundred yards down the road I was thinking about what kind of a fit that woman would have thrown if someone fell and scraped a knee.It's crazy out there.

First off, let me say that YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!She's one of those people that I'd like to somehow give them a magical diabetes-pill for a week just so they could have a glipse of what we deal with. Some people can be so stupid!

Yay. Thanks for helping us all--confronting one arsehole at a time. It's amazing that people turn into diabetes police at the drop of a...blood sample. Or, when you eat a piece of cake. Or when they think you need to test your blood sugar. (At times I like the reminder from my husband, but not ALL the time!) It's good to stop them in their nosy tracks. I do that, and then ask if they want to become educated. Some do, some don't.

What a star!In the first few months after I was diagnosed I felt awkward testing in public. I told my husband that I didn't want anyone who saw me to feel uncomfortable. His response? You have to live with this for the rest of your life, so if they are uncomfortable seeing you for 5 seconds, it's just too bad for them!!!

I'm Type 1 and test several times a day too. At this point I do it pretty publicly if that's where I am when I'm going to eat or not feeling well. People look at my pump (and random wires hanging out) sometimes but don't generally ask. I have a feeling I would have heard some of the comments you got and others if I asked them directly if they had questions. Maybe I will next time. It seems so odd to think of someone being bothered by you testing! Annoying!

I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said, but man, am I glad you spoke up. You handled it super well too. I become a bumbling idiot when I'm really upset, LOL, so I wouldn't have been half as well-spoken.

That lady really does deserve a kick in the head, BTW, to hopefully dislodge the part of her brain that rules empathy and compassion since apparently, it's broken.

You're going to hate me for a moment, but keep reading. I can understand her point of view. Our society is so freaked out by blood and bodily fluids it's like it should become it's own 4 letter word. And more so by blood it seems. I can completely understand her freaking out a little bit. And you know how it is. We correct people on d-sterotypes on an almost daily basis! And it sounds like she very much had some sterotypes of her own. You just want to break out into the "hallelujah chorus" when you find someone who understands about diabetes. Do I think she was wrong with the way she handled it? Absolutely. I'm like you. Say it to my face. Not behind my back. I commend you for the way that you handled it. (It's what we all love about your posts!) But what I love is the way people around you stood up for you as well. (Although they could've done it alittle sooner). Often when we think we're battling things alone, we find that there is a cheering squad. Sounds like you've got one at the gym. Keep it up!--Gotta try one of those aqua boot camps too.

Amazing. Scary. Ignorant. We were told just once by our son's grade school that he couldn't test his bg in class or on the playground because of "blood product issues" - and I very slowly and extra politely asked if they hosed down the areas with disinfectant when a child bled from a skinned knee or paper cut. No? I see.... And my son was then allowed to test or treat his diabetes whenever and wherever he wanted.

You did the right thing by confronting the ignorance and I'm sorry you had to do it but impressed by your courage. Brava!

I was diagnosed Type 1 33 years ago in my mid 20's. I knew absolutely nothing about diabetes, Type 1 or Type 2. However, I did have a vague memory of seeing someone test their urine with test tubes and Clinitest in a college dorm bathroom. I remember having a bit of the "ugh" factor seeing that and somehow dimishing my opinion of the girl testing.

I continue to have some guilt about my uninformed dismissal of this girl and often feel that the forces of the universe said "gotha" when I was diagnosed a few years later.

I'm not as critical as the rest of you for uninformed bystanders. Why in the world should they know anything about what we have to do in relation to testing, pumps, injections, etc.? All they see are ads about HIV and cautioning everyone about the danger of blood products.

So yes, the gym lady probably was immature in how she reacted to the blood testing. Don't you wish you were still ignorant about diabetes because it wasn't part of your life?

I had quite another experience.I was at a very fancy restaurant. I was seated on a long banquette, at table for 2 with chairs on the other side. There was a couple at the table next to us, strangers. We were served at the same time, and at the same moment we pulled out our insulin pens, grinned at each other and gave our shots. There were no words. That was all. But it makes me smile every time I think of it.

I always find that at a restaurant, when I pull out the test kit and the insulin pen, the waitress will come over to investigate! I use it as my sure-fire way to get "service!" haha :P

BTW, can't believe that that woman in the gym felt it was ok to act like that. Even if she was worried about blood products and stuff, there would have been a polite way for her to approach the matter with you. She acted like a scared child. Kudos to you for standing your ground :D

Lauren's Hope

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